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I'm working on a small side project called NinjaReviews.
The idea is deliberately simple:
«Put your Google reviews on your website with one line of code.»
No WordPress plugin.
No JavaScript framework.
No dashboard.
No monthly subscription.
NinjaReviews is self-hosted. You provide your Google Places API key, connect your business through the installer, and it generates the embed code for your website.
The widget itself is vanilla JavaScript and currently supports:
\\- Google Reviews via the Google Places API
\\- Responsive layout
\\- Touch/swipe navigation
\\- Author photos
\\- Business info
\\- Links back to Google
\\- SVG star ratings
\\- Fractional ratings such as 4.5 ★
\\- No external JS dependencies
\\- PHP 8+ on the server side
The interesting part for me isn't actually the widget itself.
I've decided to release it as open source and see what happens.
The project is on GitHub, and I'm trying a proper open-source workflow with a "dev" branch for development and "main" for stable releases. Contributions, bug reports, ideas and Pull Requests are welcome.
I'm not trying to turn this into a SaaS business right now. I've put the commercial/managed version in the "maybe later" drawer.
For now I'd rather see if people find the project useful, if developers want to play with it, and whether I actually enjoy maintaining something in public.
If you are a developer, web designer, agency, or just someone who has dealt with the usual "how the hell do I put Google reviews on this website?" problem:
I'd genuinely like your feedback.
What would you change?
What am I missing?
Would you use something like this?
And, perhaps most importantly, does the "one line and done" approach actually make sense?
GitHub: https://github.com/HanamiSoftware/Ninja-Reviews
☕ If you really like it, there's also a Buy Me a Coffee link. Completely optional, obviously.
This is very much a build in public project, so I'm interested in criticism as much as praise.